(AA) In the wake of the recent string of solar flares, some Americans--particularly Gulf Coast residents--may be wondering whether there are places in the U.S. that are safe from such natural disasters. The short answer? No. The Midwest may not be vulnerable to hurricanes, but twisters drop in regularly. Major earthquakes don't tend to strike New England, but strong winds can peel the roof off a northeastern house and snowstorms can shut down cities.

"Every location in the country is exposed to one disaster or another," says Wendy Rose, spokeswoman for the Institute for Business & Home Safety, a Tampa, Fla.-based nonprofit insurance industry group that aims to reduce losses from natural catastrophes.

Still, some places are less susceptible than others to natural hazards. To get an idea where they might be, we partnered with Sperling's Best Places ( www.bestplaces.net), a data collection company based in Portland, Ore. Sperling's has compiled weather and disaster data for 331 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., and we used the information to discern the safest--and least safe--areas in which to live.

Do Free Energy and Consciousness Seem Unrelated?

In actuality, zero-point scientists and engineers perceive a high degree of interrelatedness between free energy and consciousness. This relationship has up to now escaped the normal view — but it's important. The relationship between consciousness and zero-point energy affects our ability to manifest a free-energy technology in our world. And our understanding of this relationship will eventually change our world in fundamental ways — ways that most would find hard to believe.

Peter Lindemann said, "There is really only ONE FORCE preventing the public availability of free energy technology, and that is the unspiritually-motivated behavior of the human animals." But he makes it clear that when free energy does appear in the public domain, it will mark "the dawning of a truly civilized age."

So the quality of human spirituality is the first part of an equation that will determine whether or not free energy becomes part of our future. But there is a second part, and that involves the way in which consciousness itself is involved in zero-point energy. In this respect, human consciousness is more — much more — than just an isolated electromagnetic phenomenon emitted from the human brain, for it interacts with All That Is in profound ways.

Free Energy and a Healthy Environment

It is obvious to most researchers that if ZPE or any clean free-energy device were to take hold in the world, the environment would become healthier, since these types of machines do not pollute. But the idea that human spirituality might affect the very release of free energy in the first place is new to most people.

I would like now to make clear the concept that cleaning pollution from the Earth has the very same restraints as making free energy available has. Human spirituality and higher consciousness are necessary if the Earth is to become clean again. And I am not the first one to make this statement. We pointed out that the United Nations itself has come to this very same conclusion: Spirit of Ma'at August 2001 Editorial: "In June of 1992, governmental bodies from almost every country in the world came together in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Here, the greatest scientific minds on earth were assembled to discuss the seriousness of the global situation. Their intent was to join forces, pinpoint the problems, determine the extent of the damage, and then find solutions.

"They did not find solutions. Or, rather, they did not find solutions that could be implemented by governmental or scientific bodies. It was going to take, they discovered, the cooperation of all of us, and a change in our mindset, to reverse the destruction of our planet. And they listed 27 principles which, if followed by the peoples of the world, could bring about the return of environmental balance. (See Rio Conference Document.)" This change in our mindset to reverse the destruction of our planet is the same change in our mindset that will allow free energy to emerge in everyday life. Read the Rio Conference Document and it becomes clear. As the United Nations affirmed, eliminating poverty and caring for our brother and sister are essential for there to be environmental health. It seems it is also necessary for free energy and ZPE to be released to the world.

We all need to care about each other.

There's a vampire on the loose, and he likes to leave the lights on like Motel 6. Whether you're at work, at home or out on the town, this vampire is taking a bite out of your wallet and harming the environment. But, there's no need to barricade the house and stock up on garlic just yet. This vampire works entirely though your electrical outlets and stopping this monster can be as easy as pulling a few plugs. Vampire energy is estimated to cost U.S. Consumers around 3 billion a year.

The villain in question is vampire power, also known as standby power and phantom load, from what is called a vampire device. You can also find it referred to as vampire energy, leaking energy, wall warts, standby loss, idle current, phantom power, ghost load, ghost charge, and vampire load.  The terms refers to the electricity many gadgets and appliances waste just by being plugged in (even if they're switched off). After all, what do you think your cell-phone charger does all day while it's plugged into the wall? If it's warm when you get home from work, then it's been using electricity -- even if it had nothing to charge.

­Individually, your rechargeable electric toothbrush may not put that much strain on the local power plant, but the big picture is far more troubling. In the United States alone, vampire power costs consumers more than $3 billion a year [source: Energy Information Administration]. Over time, many microwaves and televisions actually consume more electricity during the hours they're not in use than the times you're actually using them to heat up dinner and watch your favorite show.

How do you fight off the ravages of vampire power? In this article, you'll learn why this energy loss happens and how to slay it once and for all.

What does the future hold? Well, if you have the right education, it could mean an exciting new, futuristic career. These 20 jobs are worlds from ordinary and may surprise you. Check out some of the top careers of the future, learn more about new and exciting jobs on the horizon, and learn how you can train to be a pioneer in a futuristic field.

Jobs may be scarce today, but if current trends hold, pretty soon there will be plenty of fun, lucrative gigs. If you have the vision to start prepping now, you could be flying starships, reading minds for DARPA, or manning a fusion or free energy reactor. The jobs are coming. Feel free to thank us over lunch at the hotel you built- on Mars.